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Condolences from the Head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District on the death of Abbess Rafaila (Vasilenko)

On February 4, 2024, at the age of 89, the abbess of the convent of the city of Astana in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Seeking the Lost,” Abbess Raphael (Vasilenko) reposed in the Lord.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, expressed condolences to the dean of the Astana church district, Archimandrite Sergius (Karamyshev), the nuns of the Astana monastery in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Recovery of the Lost,” the clergy and the capital:

Your Reverence, dear Father Sergius!
All-honorable fathers, God-loving nuns,
dear brothers and sisters!

On the day of remembrance of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, the abbess of the Astanai Monastery in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Seeking the Lost”, Abbess Raphael (Vasilenko), reposed in the Lord.

This news resonated with sadness in the hearts of all who knew, respected and loved the late mother abbess - a church worker, an example of service to God and neighbor, a modest and virtuous person.

The consolation for all of us is that Abbess Raphael lived a long life, filled with labors for the benefit of her native Orthodoxy and reposed in the Lord on a special holiday, when the Holy Church glorifies the host of sufferers for the faith of Christ. The Lord vouchsafed her to receive saving spiritual lessons from pastors and monastics who passed through the crucible of trials during the years of hard times and did not betray the truth of the Gospel. Back in 1978, at the hands of the ever-memorable confessor of the faith, Archimandrite Kirill (Borodin), the future abbess took monastic vows. In those difficult times for the life of Orthodoxy, this was a brave, sacrificial act. Clothed in the “angelic image,” Mother Raphaila began to work with even greater zeal in her native Constantine and Helena Cathedral, fulfilling various church obediences with humility and meekness. She took part in the construction of the monastery church in honor of the Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky and the construction of the sister's building, organized repair and restoration work in the Constantine and Helena Cathedral, and prepared the necessary documents for registration of the monastic community. The deceased abbess, with gratitude to God and heartfelt joy, gave her strength, health and talents to the improvement of monastic life in the Tselinograd region.

In the monastery, Abbess Raphaila managed to create an atmosphere of Christian love and spiritual peace. The late worker did a lot to preserve monastic traditions in Kazakhstan, enhance the spiritual heritage and moral education of the younger generation. No matter what obedience the Lord called mother to, she invariably performed everything without laziness, with her characteristic zeal, heartfelt simplicity and sincerity. We often communicated with mother, discussing issues of monastic life. During conversations, she willingly shared with me her memories of Archimandrite Kirill (Borodin) and other devotees of faith and piety, and talked about the sorrowful life of the clergy and believers in the era of militant atheism.

On the day of remembrance of the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, the Creator and Provider of this world moved her - the heir of their exploits - from temporary life to eternity, from earthly existence to the Heavenly Kingdom. The Lord mercifully granted His faithful servant, in the last moments of her earthly existence, to partake of the Life-giving Mysteries, “for the remission of sins and eternal life.”

Today, everyone who loved, appreciated and respected Abbess Raphael is experiencing the pain of loss, but for the believing heart in all circumstances, the words of the Apostle Paul sound as consolation: “f we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Rom. 14:8).

I pray to the Creator of Heaven and earth, who established times and years in His goodness, for the newly deceased mother to be numbered with the wise virgins of the Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13), for her repose in the Heavenly abodes - where there is no illness, no sorrow, no sighs, but life is endless. May she be honored to hear the desired voice of Christ, to whom she dedicated her entire life: Come and share your master’s happiness (Matthew 25:21).

I have given instructions that funeral services be performed for the deceased in the churches and monasteries of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word” (2 Thess. 2:16-17).

Eternal and grateful memory to Abbess Raphaila!